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Yamada and Ji receive Kaul Prize

Posted December 9, 2003; 04:31 p.m.

by rstevens

Masaaki Yamada and Hantao Ji, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
, recently received the Kaul Prize for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research and Technology Development.

The award recognizes Yamada and Ji "for the experimental investigation of driven magnetic reconnection in a laboratory plasma." Magnetic reconnection is the breaking and topological rearrangement of magnetic field lines in a plasma -- a hot, ionized gas. It is one of the most fundamental processes of plasma physics and has important relevance to fusion research, as well as to the physics of the Earth's magnetosphere and solar flares. Yamada and Ji conduct their research on the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment at the PPPL.

The University awards the Kaul Prize to recognize a recent outstanding technical achievement in plasma physics or technology development by a full-time, regular employee of the PPPL. It includes a cash award of $2,000 for each individual. Former PPPL Director Ronald Davidson endowed the Kaul Prize by giving the University a portion of the gift he received as the 1993 recipient of the Award for Excellence in Science, Education and Physics from the Kaul Foundation.